Are we right to demonise plastic?

"Are we right to demonise plastic", was published this weeked. It has highlighted the back and forth issues revolving plastic in the ocean and beach clean ups.

It starts by describing the plastic found and cleaned up during one beach visit and the smaller more difficult to see granuals which are ingested by marine life. Richard Baynes interviews Kevin Ross, Managing Director of Impact Solutions . Our very own president of the SPRA, Mr Ross, who represents the plastic industry professionals and businesses, explains that we choose to use plastics as "they are better for the job than the alternatives."

He continues to discuss the driving reason to stop plastic polution - how much is being wasted and lost. When you have spent so much resource and money to make a material which is very valuable, why would we just discard it, causing it to end up in the ocean and endanger marine life as well as ending up on our beautiful beaches? Kevin finishes by saying "Solving the one per cent of plastic that the UK puts into the ocean is great for raising awareness: its not solving the problem". The managing director is more than happy to help, taking part in a beach clean but suggests that we need to take our own responsibility in recycling.

An interesting read, possibly shining a more positive light on plastic, where we learn that it is not the plastic itself that is the problem. It is the way in which we use it and do not recycling it efficiently. The recycling process needs to be carefully designed and carried out within the UK where we are taking responsibility for it.